News from the bay area arts scene, March 31

News From the Bay Area Arts Scene

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Festival benefits Japanese aid relief

Kôkua Japan San Francisco, a daylong benefit festival for Japanese disaster relief, will be held Saturday in Japantown's Peace Plaza.

When musician Steven Espaniola heard about the devastation in Japan, he decided to turn his monthly Hawaiian ukulele lessons at the Aloha Warehouse into a benefit. "And it snowballed," he says. The Warehouse's owners, Leah and Edgar Deng, teamed up with Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival organizers to take over the Peace Plaza next door, while Espaniola began finding musicians.

The show will feature more than 15 musical groups, an eclectic mix of Hawaiian, Polynesian, reggae and funk. The island communities "are intertwined," Espaniola says. "Kokua" means "help" in Hawaiian.

Local merchants have donated items for raffle prizes, while Hawaiian Airlines is flying in 200 special "Aloha" T-shirts. The event will be emceed by NBC newsman and comedian Mike Inouye.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.